Alerts

Did you know that pneumonia can develop if you accidentally inhale food particles, liquid, saliva, or regurgitated stomach contents into the airways (bronchi) and it gets into your lung tissue (alveoli)? This form of pneumonia is called aspiration pneumonia. Find out who's at risk--and how to protect yourself from this potentially life-threatening condition.

The contents of your medicine cabinet might be affecting your mood. According to a 2018 study in JAMA, about 1 in 3 American adults takes one or more prescription drugs known to increase the risk of depression.

Some prostate cancer experts recommend that men diagnosed with prostate cancer eat a plant-based diet. A lot of men might hear that and wonder if that means they need to become vegetarians or adopt a vegan diet. Do they?

If you have high cholesterol, one thing you can do is change your diet to see if that lowers your numbers enough so that you don't need to take medication. And one dietary approach—the Portfolio Diet—involves limiting foods that raise blood cholesterol and adding foods that lower it. But does it work? New research says yes—and then some.

Anti-VEGF medications are very effective in treating age-related macular degeneration, diabetic macular edema, and retinal vein occlusion. But there has long been concern that they may increase the risk of bleeding and other problems. French researchers recently assessed how real that risk is.

As the amount of care required by a person with Alzheimer's disease increases, so too does the work that that person's caregiver needs to do. The situation can be physically and emotionally draining, leading to caregiver burnout. Here's how to recognize caregiver burnout--and what to do about it.

Radon—a colorless, odorless gas—is estimated to be the leading cause of lung cancer among nonsmokers and the second leading cause of the disease overall. Here's how to find out if this toxic gas is polluting your home.

Some doctors prescribe opioids for chronic muscle and joint pain associated with hip and knee osteoarthritis, despite a lack of research indicating they offer significant relief. But there's no question that overuse of these addictive drugs has contributed to a crisis of overdoses and deaths. So, are opioids worth the risk?

Atrial fibrillation (AF) causes the heart to beat erratically, which can trigger ischemic strokes, the most common type. Normal heart rhythm can be restored with medical therapy, or may happen spontaneously. However, disturbed heart rhythm may recur, suggesting that people with resolved AF remain at risk, a team of British researchers discovered.

In the past, a test for measuring cholesterol levels was typically done by drawing blood after you fasted overnight. According to the latest guideline from the American Heart Association (AHA) and the American College of Cardiology (ACC), most people who don't take statins or other cholesterol-lowering drugs no longer need to fast (though it's still OK to do so).

A large, randomized trial known as SPRINT MIND indicates that intensely lowering elevated blood pressure could reduce the risk of mild cognitive impairment (MCI), a slight but noticeable decline in memory and thinking skills that in some people might be a precursor to dementia.

Investigators have found additional evidence of a connection between obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and cognitive impairment. The findings show that as the severity of OSA increases, so do levels of amyloid plaque—a hallmark of Alzheimer's. But can treating sleep apnea help prevent the build up—and, potentially, the development of Alzheimer's?

Did you know that many people with hoarding disorder also have another mental disorder, most commonly major depressive disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, social phobia, panic disorder, or post-traumatic stress disorder? About 15 to 20 percent of hoarders have obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD). Here are some common questions about hoarding and answers that can help you better understand the behavior.

Thanks to reliable diagnostic tests and numerous treatment options now available, death rates from prostate cancer are on the decline. Nearly 100 percent of men are still alive five years after a prostate cancer diagnosis, 98 percent are alive 10 years after diagnosis, and about 96 percent are alive 15 years after diagnosis. But deciding which treatment option to choose is not always easy. Here's why men should consider getting more than one medical opinion.

Children might be at greater risk for swallowing toxic household products, but adults with dementia are also in jeopardy. Here are common household products to look out for and tips that can help you poison-proof the home.

Contact with nature has a host of potential physical and psychological benefits, according to a growing body of evidence. Researchers have focused mostly on the health effects of spending time in parks or wilderness, but two recent studies suggest there are potential benefits of living in leafy, green neighborhoods or even near leafy, green blocks in inner cities.

Glaucoma treatments can prevent vision loss and blindness, but many patients still experience problems like double vision (diplopia) and strabismus (misaligned eyes), which can interfere with their quality of life.

A beverage made from fermented whey improves moderately bothersome lower urinary tract symptoms in men with benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), according to a small European study. The drink also appears to reduce the cell damage that promotes BPH.

We all know that sugar is a big factor in weight gain and obesity, but that's only the beginning, experts say; excess sugar consumption may contribute to a host of ills, from heart attacks to liver disease. But, how much added sugar is too much?

Overall, studies report that about 50 percent of prescriptions are not taken “as directed." But when you have COPD, taking your prescribed medication properly can prevent you from getting sicker, keep you out of the hospital, and reduce the cost of treatment over time. Here’s advice to help you stick with your prescribed routine.

Taking a widely prescribed prostate cancer drug with a low-fat meal instead of on an empty stomach—the usual recommendation—can allow men to use a lower dose with no loss in effectiveness, a 2018 study in...

There's plenty most people can do to lower elevated blood pressure, including healthy lifestyle changes and a variety of different classes of hypertension medications. But even those strategies aren't enough for some people, and their blood pressure remains high, a condition called resistant hypertension. Here's the latest advice on how to treat it.

If you have arthritis of the hand, even the simplest tasks—such as twisting open a jar or lifting a bag of groceries—can seem nearly impossible as a result of pain, stiffness, and weakness. A bounty of new evidence has led to updated recommendations from the European League Against Rheumatism (EULAR) on how to manage this chronic and painful condition.

As we age, our cognitive abilities tend to decline. It's unfortunate, but normal. Now, a study in about 5,200 cognitively normal, older people living in England shows that this decline is more rapid in individuals with elevated blood sugar levels.

The placebo effect occurs when belief in a remedy or in the power of a trusted and caring practitioner actually helps the remedy work and triggers an improvement in symptoms and health. But is that how antidepressants work?

In people suffering from vertebral compression fractures due to osteoporosis, vertebroplasty (injection of acrylic bone cement to stabilize the fracture) is no better at relieving pain than injection of pain relievers, according to a study reported in 2018 in The BMJ.

It's well known that air pollution contributes to many health problems, including heart disease, asthma, and other respiratory disorders. But evidence is accumulating that it can also harm the brain, especially as people age, contributing to cognitive decline and dementia.

After a heart attack, women are less likely than men to receive the recommended high-dose statin treatment. Results of a large U.S. study found that despite efforts to close gender gaps in heart disease treatment, women are still less likely to receive certain effective therapies. The reasons remain unclear.

Alcohol may adversely affect the oral microbiome—that is, the colonies of bacteria and other microorganisms in the mouth—according to a 2018 study in the journal Microbiome, which included 1,044 people. And this may have both local and systemic health implications.

Did you know that as your weight creeps up, so does the size of your prostate? Research has shown that overweight men are more likely to develop benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) than their normal-weight counterparts. The good news is that maintaining a healthy weight by eating right and exercising could tip the odds of having a healthy prostate in your favor.

People with Alzheimer's disease and other dementias often need assistance with such basic activities of daily living as washing, grooming, and dressing themselves. These practical tips can help you provide care while letting your loved one feel comfortable, independent, and respected.